


Ravishing Lake

by musesmistress



Category: Legend of the Seeker
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-15
Updated: 2013-02-15
Packaged: 2017-11-29 09:04:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesmistress/pseuds/musesmistress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They had no time to lose and had to find the Black Opal as quickly as possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ravishing Lake

“Don’t look up,” Richard whispered to himself and hoped he was still walking in a straight line. He had been walking for a long time, but he wasn’t sure just how long.

It had started with Zedd getting poisoned by something in his food. He instantly sank in a deep coma. There had been no doubt in Richard’s mind that this was the work of Darken Rahl. His eyes had scanned the room and before he realized it Cara had her hands around the throat of the cook. The young woman had been scared to death and immediately confessed that she was ordered to put a crushed Grave Mossroot in the Wizard’s supper. 

The incident with Zedd was a serious setback. One they had to deal with quickly; the coma would become permanent in just a week.

Cara stayed with Zedd while Richard and Kahlan went to get the antidote. They had to find the rarest plant from the midlands, a Black Opal. A small plant with leaves as white as snow to blend in with its surroundings. The small pitch black and glassy flower could only be harvested for a few days a year. But most of all the location of the plant was the most troubling.

The other side of Ravishing Lake.

Of course this didn’t mean anything to Richard, since he was from Heartland, but the words had made even Cara shiver. She had tried to hide it, but Richard noticed the twitch in her eyes.

Richard had asked Kahlan about the lake, but she refused to speak about it. She told him the less he knew for now the better it was. Richard trusted her and didn’t ask about it during their journey. They rode the horse constantly. While Kahlan napped Richard guided her horse and she repeated the service. They had no time to lose and had to find the Black Opal as quickly as possible. 

Not long after noon on the third day they reached the shore of the Ravishing Lake. Richard had jumped from his horse and stared at the horizon. The frozen lake was immense. There was no sign of the other side for as far as he could see.

He saw Kahlan's hesitation and fear as she joined him at the edge of the lake.

She swallowed and watched him. Then she kneeled and asked the spirits to guide them across the lake. Richard watched her in silence, but he was not going across the lake without her answering a few questions.

He knew Kahlan had seen his Seeker’s side before, the need for answers, and took a deep breath before she slowly explained about the lake.

“Richard, if there is something that every creature in the Midlands, including the Mord-Sith fear, it’s crossing Ravishing Lake. Very few have ever made it across the lake and even fewer returned. Those who did paid a great price for the trip. Even Zedd would not take this challenge unless there was absolutely no other way. Ravishing Lake is not safe. It is the land of the Ravishing Ravens. No one really knows what they look like, but myth tells their eyes are blacker than the darkest night. They can drain your spirit from your body and turn you as cold as ice. You cannot and must not look them in the eyes! Ever!”

Kahlan words still echoed in Richard’s mind. She had been demanding and wanted him to know how serious she was. Carefully he kept walking on the slippery ice, not looking up or either side. It wasn’t safe. He heard the Ravens circling around him, but they kept their distance. Richard wasn’t sure if it was because of the Sword, but he gripped the hilt deeper in his palm. He was going to make it. He had to, especially now the situation had gotten more desperate. The dry and icy cold air seared his lungs, making it hard to breath. Richard had never know the cold could burn and sting like a thousand needled, but no matter how hard things were, he had to continue and could not stop. He had to save Zedd and find Kahlan.

Kahlan had paused after her warning about Ravishing Lake. “They are a vicious and relentless species Richard. Promise me you will not look them in the eye! Promise me.”

He had nodded and promised her. Her plan was to walk the almost five miles across the frozen lake together. A rope kept them close and they could only watch the ice beneath their feet. One look from a Raven could turn them into ice. For a while there was no problem. They both walked slowly on the ice and made progress. 

Suddenly a thick mist had approached them. The mist engulfed them with only one purpose, disorienting them. They both heard rustling around them. Kahlan warned Richard in a whisper about the Ravens. In defence Richard grabbed his sword and he had heard Kahlan speak the words: “Be careful.” Less than a second later he felt the end of the rope swing against his leg. He found the rope between him and Kahlan was cut. He had been separated from Kahlan. 

Richard called for Kahlan, she replied from a distance to keep walking and not take his eyes from the ice before reaching the other side of Ravishing Lake. He called again for Kahlan, but her reply came from an even greater distance. This was impossible. For a while Richard kept calling for Kahlan, but the sound of her voice had quickly vanished in to the distance.

Two times Richard had walked into something. He couldn’t be entirely sure, but by touch and the lower part of the items he feared it were frozen humans. This thought made him sick. He feared for Kahlan. Had she looked into the Ravens eyes? Where was she and how would he be able to find her without looking.

“Just a little while longer,” Richard whispered to himself. He needed to clear his mind and continue on the mission. There was no time to linger on the past. There was only the future to be saved. If only he could make it to the other side.

The circling Ravens around him still kept their distance, but their numbers seemed to increase. Richard took slow breaths of the icy air and placed one foot in front of the other until he saw a pair of bare translucent feet on the ice.

“You are the Seeker.” A woman’s voice creaked.

Richard hadn’t stumbled onto another ice statue but a Raven. He felt his heart pound in his chest and raised the sword in front of him, but still kept his eyes aimed at the ice floor. “Go Away.” He harshly said and regretted it, because he felt the precious air being sucked from his lungs.

“You are the Seeker.” The voice spoke again. 

Richard nearly collapsed from pain when his lungs filled with air again. He wanted to talk, but had to spare his breath.

The Raven stepped closer and Richard swung the sword to make clear she had to keep her distance.

“You can save your friends.”

The Raven stepped closer, now almost in the swords range.

“Both of them.” 

Her voice scared him. It had authority, was seductive, calm, but most of all, wasn’t human.

“Look at me.” 

The Raven held her hand out and was standing only a few inches from Richard. He had no idea how this had happened. He wanted to swing his sword, but it wasn’t in his hand.

“Look at me!” The Raven creaked with fury.

“No,” Richard replied. “I made a promise not to.” Air rushed from his lungs, making him drop to his knees. He wanted to take a breath, but his lungs failed.

“I can help if you look at me,” The Raven sneered. 

Richard shook his head and heard more Ravens rustle around him. 

“You are the Seeker. You seek the truth. You need to save your friends. At all costs, because you are The Seeker.”

Richard swallowed and noticed he was breathing normal again. However he also noticed two hands were supporting his chin.

“Look at me.” The Raven whispered, breathing warm air in Richard’s face.

In a blink Richard opened his eyes and stared into something he could not instantly describe. He held his breath and a flash of him promising Kahlan he would not look up passed his thought. He had failed.

The Raven blinked her eyes. Her eyes were crystal clear, but swirls of black clouds spun inside them. Richard quickly took in the rest of the woman. She looked not so different from humans, arms, legs, hands and feet. Only her skin was nearly translucent and she wore a silk white dress, not hiding any detail of her posture or figure.

“You are the Seeker,” she calmly creaked again. Her pitch black lips emphasizing every word seductively. “You can save your friends and yourself.” The Raven swung Richard’s face to the left.

Richard felt sick to his stomach. Just out of reach he saw Kahlan frozen to the ice.

“The last Mother Confessor is ours now.”

“How,” Richard breathed in defeat. “How can I save them?”

“You are the Seeker.” The Raven smiled. “And will become a great wizard.” Her deadly eyes stared into Richard’s mind. He felt it. He felt her invade his mind, read his thoughts, emotions and memories. She closed her lips to Richard’s ear and her warm breath made him tremble in fear. “Look at me.”

~~~***~~~

“Richard!”

Richard slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times. “Kahlan?” He quickly pulled himself up and spun his head towards Kahlan. “Are you real?”

“Yes, are you alright?” She asked.

“What happened?”

Kahlan kneeled next to Richard and hugged him. “I don’t know.” She cried. “We were walking across the lake and suddenly someone pulled me in another direction. It was too late that I discovered it wasn’t you but the Raven. I…,” her voice shivered. “I don’t remember. It was cold. I couldn’t breathe.”

“You’re safe now,” Richard soothed her. 

What had he done? He vaguely remembered something terrible. A price. The price to save Kahlan… and Zedd. Richard pushed Kahlan away and checked his pockets. He lifted a small engraved crystal box from it. Inside he saw three Black Opal flowers. 

“You’ve got the flowers,” Kahlan said with a strange relief in her voice. “How?”

Richard bit his lip. “I don’t remember.” 

Memories of the Raven slowly came back, but the more he remembered, the more he wanted to forget. He had saved Kahlan and there was still time to save Zedd, but what if the cost was many others dying because of what he was. A Seeker and Wizard. A rare combination and the Raven knew it. The woman, their leader used it. She used him. Even while he didn’t have active Wizard power, he was still one.

Richard took a deep breath. “Let’s go back and wake Zedd.”

Kahlan nodded and Richard saw the worries in her eyes. He wished he could talk and explain, but the Raven had told him not to. Even on that she had put a price. The life of the last Mother Confessor was now in his hands. And that of the Ravens shard embedded in her heart. One wrong word and it would rip through her chest.

Richard swallowed and climbed onto his horse in silence. He was going to be the father of a Raven Wizard. One with Seeker abilities as well. He saved his friends, but at what costs. What if he helped create the new world’s doom.

The words, “Look at me,” echoed in Richard’s mind. Then he saw, saw the path clearing ahead of him. Seeing each obstacle on the road, on their path and along their journey. Each obstacle foreseen was clear to him. Slowly Richard exhaled. He understood what the Raven had told him. “He was The Seeker.”


End file.
